Table 1.
Characteristics of New York City (NYC) residents treated for cold-related illness or who died as a result of hypothermia, 2005–2014.
| Patient Characteristic | Emergency Department Visits, Excluding Admissions and Deaths | Hospital Admissions, Excluding Deaths | Deaths | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | % | Rate Ratio | 95% CI | n | % | Rate Ratio | 95% CI | n | % | Rate Ratio | 95% CI | |
| Total 1 | 1768 | 100% | - | - | 2419 | 100% | - | - | 148 | 100% | - | - |
| Gender | ||||||||||||
| Female | 504 | 29% | ref | - | 770 | 32% | ref | - | 44 | 30% | ref | - |
| Male | 1263 | 71% | 2.8 | 2.5, 3.1 | 1649 | 68% | 2.4 | 2.2, 2.6 | 104 | 70% | 2.6 | 1.8, 3.7 |
| Unknown 2 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Female age group (years) | ||||||||||||
| 0–4 | 19 | 1% | ref | - | 22 | 1% | ref | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5–17 | 70 | 4% | 1.5 | 0.9, 2.5 | 16 | 0% | 0.3 | 0.2, 0.6 | 1 | 1% | - | - |
| 18–34 | 117 | 7% | 1.3 | 0.8, 2.2 | 44 | 2% | 0.4 | 0.3, 0.7 | 1 | 1% | - | - |
| 35–64 | 219 | 12% | 1.8 | 1.1, 2.8 | 259 | 11% | 1.8 | 1.2, 2.8 | 17 | 11% | ref | - |
| 65–84 | 59 | 3% | 1.6 | 0.9, 2.6 | 268 | 11% | 6.2 | 4.0, 9.5 | 16 | 11% | 3.1 | 1.6, 6.2 |
| 85+ | 20 | 1% | 2.7 | 1.4, 5.1 | 161 | 7% | 18.9 | 12.1, 29.5 | 9 | 6% | 9.0 | 4.0, 20.1 |
| Male age group (years) | ||||||||||||
| 0–4 | 23 | 1% | ref | - | 36 | 1% | ref | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5–17 | 87 | 5% | 1.6 | 1.0, 2.5 | 16 | 0% | 0.2 | 0.1, 0.3 | - | - | - | - |
| 18–34 | 332 | 19% | 3.5 | 2.3, 5.3 | 151 | 7% | 1.0 | 0.7, 1.5 | 6 | 4% | ref | - |
| 35–64 | 704 | 40% | 5.4 | 3.6, 8.2 | 1028 | 42% | 5.1 | 3.6, 7.1 | 67 | 45% | 8.2 | 3.6, 18.9 |
| 65–84 | 102 | 6% | 3.3 | 2.1, 5.2 | 345 | 14% | 7.2 | 5.1, 10.2 | 26 | 18% | 13.5 | 5.6, 32.8 |
| 85+ | 15 | 1% | 4.0 | 2.1, 7.6 | 73 | 3% | 12.4 | 8.3, 18.5 | 5 | 3% | 21.1 | 6.5, 69.3 |
| Neighborhood Poverty 3 | ||||||||||||
| Low (<10% in poverty) | 198 | 11% | ref | - | 272 | 11% | ref | - | 11 | 9% | ref | - |
| Medium (10 to <20%) | 573 | 33% | 1.4 | 1.2, 1.6 | 873 | 37% | 1.5 | 1.3, 1.7 | 50 | 42% | 2.1 | 1.1, 4.1 |
| High (20 to <30%) | 470 | 27% | 1.7 | 1.4, 2.0 | 592 | 25% | 1.5 | 1.3, 1.8 | 28 | 23% | 1.8 | 0.9, 3.6 |
| Very High (30%+) | 502 | 29% | 2.0 | 1.7, 2.3 | 647 | 27% | 1.9 | 1.6, 2.1 | 31 | 26% | 2.2 | 1.1, 4.4 |
| Other/Unknown 2 | 25 | 35 | 28 | |||||||||
| Homeless 4 | 15 | 1% | 586 | 24% | 26 | 18% | ||||||
| Other Health Conditions 5 | ||||||||||||
| Cardiovascular | 173 | 10% | 1478 | 61% | 56 | 38% | ||||||
| Substance Use/Dependency | 272 | 15% | 1099 | 45% | 59 | 40% | ||||||
| Mental Illness | 86 | 5% | 1075 | 44% | 8 | 5% | ||||||
| Respiratory | 66 | 4% | 752 | 31% | 10 | 7% | ||||||
| Diabetes | 86 | 5% | 611 | 25% | 6 | 4% | ||||||
| Any condition | 536 | 30% | 2269 | 94% | 107 | 72% | ||||||
| Place of Injury | ||||||||||||
| Residence | 142 | 13% | 580 | 34% | ||||||||
| Street | 397 | 36% | 611 | 35% | ||||||||
| Recreation | 31 | 3% | 36 | 2% | ||||||||
| Building | 28 | 3% | 36 | 2% | ||||||||
| Other | 503 | 46% | 463 | 27% | ||||||||
| Unknown 3 | 667 | 693 | ||||||||||
| Current or previous day min temp ≤ −6 °C (20 °F) | 534 | 30% | 533 | 22% | 47 | 32% | ||||||
1 Data restricted to events in months of October–April. Rate ratios calculated using 2010 US Census data for denominators; 2 Excluded from denominator for percentages; 3 Neighborhood poverty based on zip code defined as percent of residents with incomes below 100% of the Federal Poverty Level per the US American Community Survey 2010–2014; 4 Based on homeless indicator in hospital data and residence unknown in death certificates; 5 Not mutually exclusive. Any chronic condition defined as having one or more of the following conditions: cardiovascular disease, substance use, mental illness, respiratory conditions, or diabetes.